Apparatus for cooling curved stereotype printing plates



Oct. 3, 1950 A. v. BUGLER APPARATUS RoR COOLING cURvED sTRRRoTYPR PRINTING PLATES Filed Dec.

. R RRQR Patented Oct. 3 1950 APPARATUS FR COOLING CURVED STEREOTYPE PRINTING PLATES Arthur Victorv Bugler, Timperley, England, as-

signor to Linotype and Machinery Limited, London, England, a company of Great Britain ApplicationDecember 2, 1947, Serial No. 789,257 Y In Great Britain December 4, 1946 This invention relatesto apparatus for cooling curved stereotype printing plates wherein the plate to cooled suppcrted by its edges above a cylindrical chamberfrom which water under pressure is discharged on tov the inner surface of the plate throughout its length.

In the use of apparatus of this'kind there is a liability that water is not discharged in sufficient quantity and direction to eiect even or adequate cooling of the plate sothat variations in cooling may cause distortion of the plate and affect its fit or cling on the printing press cylinder.

To avoid this diculty it has been proposed to support a curved stereotype Vprinting -plate by means of projections formed on brackets attached to a cooling chamber having flexible sides which form with the inner surface of the plate a shallow space in which cooling water is held against the inner surface of the'plate, contraction of the plate during cooling causing movement of the iiexible sides and plate to an extent determined by adjustable stops. The flexible sides and shallow water space, however, do not allow water to be discharged in sufficient quantity and direction to effect even and ade- 25 quate cooling of the plate, and the plate supporting brackets and flexible sides tend rto permit distortion of the plate.

In order to avoid Athe above-mentioned diniculty the present `invention"consists in .aj method of cooling a curved stereotype printing plate wherein water discharged under pressure is deflected and diffused over the inner surface of the plate and distortion of the plate is obviated by controlling contraction during cooling of the plate.

Apparatus devised to carry the invention into effect preferably comprises means for discharging water under pressure, deflecting members for diifusing the water over the inner surface of the plate and rigid means, capable of adjustment, for obviating distortion of the plate by controlling contraction during cooling thereof. The apparatus may have means for independently controlling contraction of different parts of the plate. The water is preferably discharged in the region of the longitudinal center of the plate and the deflecting members deect and diffuse the water over the inner surface of the plate on either side of the longitudinal center of the plate.

The invention will be clearly understood from the following description, given by way of example, of one form which it may assume, and this description will be more readily followed by 5 Claims.

'of a water discharge outlet.

According to the constructional form of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings as applied to stereotype plate finishing apparatus in which, after being trimmed, in a shaving arch, the plate I is passed to a cooling station, the platel is supported by members 2 above a water cooling chamber 3 so that its longitudinal center is positioned above a longitudinal water discharge outlet 4 formed in the cooling chamber 3 (see Figure 2). The cooling chamber 3 is divided into compartments in the direction of its length 'by transverse'walls 5, and each compartment is supplied with a controlled amount of Water in Ythe manner described in United States Patent specification No. 2,120,176.

A vertical plate 6 is inserted along the center 'of the discharge outlet 4 (see Figure 2) so as to pass through the packing strips 5a in the walls 5 (see Figure 3) and lengthwise of the outlet 4 (see Figure 1). Located a short distance above the vertical plate 6 and also extending lengthwise of the outlet 4 and cooling chamber 3 is a horizontal plate 'I which is secured to the cooling chamber 3 by screws 8. Water discharged under pressure from the outlet 4 is deflected by the plates 6 and 1 and water is diffused over the inner surface of the plate on either side of the longitudinal center of the plate, in the manner indicated in Figure 2.

Underlying the plate 'I and at one end thereof is a slide 9 (see Figs. 1, 3 and 4) formed with a slot 9a which is engaged by a screw 8. The slide 9 can be manually moved from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 4 in order to cover the end of the outlet 4 when a shorter plate I (indicated by the broken line on the plate I shown in Figure 1) is being cooled.

It will, of course, be understood that in the present specification any reference to the length of the stereotype plate or cooling chamber refers to the distance between the left and right hand edges of the plate I or the cooling chamber 3 as viewed in Figure 1.

For controlling contraction of the plate I during cooling, the cooling chamber 3 has secured thereto adjustable strips I which extend along the length of the plate in the region of the edges thereof (see Figures 1 and 2). Each strip I0 is secured to the cooling chamber 3 by a plurality of members II screw-threaded through the Wall of the cooling chamber and provided with nuts I2. The nuts I2 and members II are independently adjustable to set different parts of the strips at different distances from the plate to control Varying contraction of diierent parts of the plate.

In the drawings the invention is illustrated as applied to a cooling chamber having a serrated baie surface as used in known stereotype plate cooling apparatus for impeding the flow of cooling water which has hitherto been allowed to issue from an outlet and flow over the surface of the cooling member. It will be appreciated, however, that the present invention simplifies manufacture by rendering such a serrated baille surface unnecessary, and an improved cooling effect is obtained by discharge of the Water under pressure and diiusion thereof over the inner surface of the plate to be cooled.

Having described my invention, I declare that what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: Y

1. Apparatus for cooling a curved stereotyp printing plate including means for supporting said plate, means for discharging water under pressure in the region of the longitudinal center of the plate, deflecting members comprising vertical and horizontal plates located in the Water discharge means so that the Water is deected and diffused over the inner surface of the plate and adjustable strips extending along the plate in the region of the longitudinal straight edges thereof and arranged to be engaged by the plate after a predetermined kcontracting movement during cooling of the plate.

2. Apparatus for cooling a curved stereotype plate according to claim 1 including means for setting diierent parts of the strips at diierent distances from the plate to control varying contraction of diiferent parts of the plate.

3. Apparatus for cooling a curved stereotype printing plate including means for supporting said plate, 'means for discharging Water under pressure in the region of the longitudinal center of the plate, deflecting members comprising vertical and horizontal plates located in the Water discharge means, said vertical plate being arranged along the center of the Water discharge means and said horizontal plate being arranged above said vertical plate and perpendicularly thereto, and said plates serving to deflect and diffuse water over the inner surface of the stereotype printing plate on either side of the longitudinal center thereof, and adjustable strips extending along the plate in the region of the longitudinal straight edges thereof and arranged to be engaged by the plate after a predetermined contracting movement during cooling of the plate.

4. Apparatus for cooling a curved stereotype printing plate including means for supporting said plate, a water chamber from which water under pressure is discharged, said chamber being formed with a longitudinal discharge outlet through which the Water is discharged in the region of the longitudinal center 0f the curved printing plate, deflecting members comprising vertical and horizontal plates located in the water discharge outlet so that the Water is deiiected and diffused over the inner surface of the printing plate, and adjustable rigid strips attached to said chamber and extending along the printing plate in the region of the longitudinal straight edges thereof and arranged to be engaged by the printing plate after a predetermined contracting movement during cooling of the printing plate.

5. Apparatus for cooling a curved stereotype printing plate according to claim 1 including a slide underlying an end of the horizontal deflecting plate and adjustable to cover or uncover the Water discharge outlet according to the length of the printing plate to be cooled.

ARTHUR VICTOR BUGLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

